Fortnite creator Epic Games will acquire Bandcamp in a bid to “support creators across all media”.
Epic Games has announced it will acquire Bandcamp. The company, who also own Fortnite and Unreal Engine, announced the takeover in a blog post today, stating that “Bandcamp will play an important role in Epic’s vision to build out a creator marketplace ecosystem for content, technology, games, art, music and more”.
Bandcamp co-founder and CEO, Ethan Diamond, assured users that Bandcamp will keep to its artist-first mission. He said Epic Games and Bandcamp are aligned with their vision of “building the most open, artist-friendly ecosystem in the world” and that the platform’s core structure won’t change.
“The products and services you depend on aren’t going anywhere, we’ll continue to build Bandcamp around our artists-first revenue model (where artists net an average of 82% of every sale)”, Diamond said.
“You’ll still have the same control over how you offer your music, Bandcamp Fridays will continue as planned, and the Daily will keep highlighting the diverse, amazing music on the site”.
Diamond says that the acquisition is motivated by the goal of exponentially improving the site. “We’re working with Epic to expand internationally and push development forward across Bandcamp, from basics like our album pages, mobile apps, merch tools, payment system, and search and discovery features, to newer initiatives like our vinyl pressing and live streaming services”.
With the platform’s core values remaining steadfast, this acquisition appears to be in the best interests for independent artists.
Vice President of Epic Games, Steve Allison said: “Bandcamp has built an incredible community and business where up and coming artists can succeed thanks to the direct support of their fans, with one of the best revenue models and terms in music”.
Epic has made non-gaming acquisitions prior with the video chat platform Houseparty, which was absorbed by Epic in 2019 as it expanded its social features.
But Bandcamp’s well-established economic structure and fanbase make it an asset as it stands and in turn, will potentially offer artists increased exposure and opportunities as Epic explore music performances within Fortnite.
Hopefully, Epic Games will continue to champion the platform’s artist-led platform, empowering independent creators across the globe.
